ASLV (Advanced Satellite Launch Vehicle)

ASLV (Advanced Satellite Launch Vehicle) is an Indian launch vehicle derived from the SLV-3.
The all-solid-propellant ASLV was created by adding two additional boosters
modified from the SLV-3's first stage and by making other general improvements
to the basic SLV-3 four-stage stack. In fact, it is a five-stage vehicle
since the core first stage does not ignite until just before the booster
rockets burn out.

The first launch of the ASLV, on March 24, 1987, failed when the bottom
stage of the core vehicle did not ignite after booster burnout. The second
attempt, on July 13, 1988, ended with the Rohini payload falling into the Bay of Bengal when the vehicle became unstable
after release of the boosters. Finally, on May 20, 1992, SROSS-3
was inserted into low Earth orbit (LEO) by the
third ASLV. However, instead of entering a circular orbit near 400 kilometers, the
ASLV achieved only a short-lived orbit of 256 kilometers by 435 kilometers. The fourth ASLV
mission in May 1994 successfully reached its programmed orbit of 434 kilometers
by 921 kilometers with the SROSS C2 payload. The vehicle is likely to be phased
out shortly in favor of the more powerful PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle).